Dryer for athletic equipment

ABSTRACT

A portable electric dryer for athletic equipment, especially for leather equipment, which may be utilized along the side lines of athletic fields, such as a football field, for drying wet balls and other equipment. The dryer includes a mobile cabinet containing a revolving cage of open work material for receiving the balls or other athletic equipment to be dried, and which is located between electrically energized heating elements for drying the balls or equipment as they tumble within the revolving cage.

[ July 24, 1973 3,152,875 10/1964 Davis, Jr. et 34/104 3,078,591 2/1963Carpenter............................. 34/104 Primary Examiner-l(ennethW. Sprague Assistant Examiner-James C. Yeung Attorney-John N. Randolph[57] ABSTRACT A portable electric dryer for athletic equipment,especially for leather equipment, which may be utilized along the sidelines of athletic fields, such as a football field, for drying wet ballsand other equipment. The dryer includes a mobile cabinet containing arevolving cage of open work material for receiving the balls or otherathletic equipment to be dried, and which is located betweenelectrically energized heating elements for drying the balls orequipment as they tumble within the revolving cage.

N. O 7 O N 0 A A 4 0 D O O O O O O United States Patent 11 1 Graffius IDRYER FOR ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT [76] Inventor: Kermit W. Graffius, R.D. No.2,

'Easton, Pa. 18042 [22] Filed: Feb. 8, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 224,544

[52] U.S. 34/104, 34/90, 34/91 [51] Int. F26b 25/00 l v a 5 ReferencesCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1967Harvey..........................,..... 12/1961 334 Davis, Jr..

124 3/1943 Luziusm..."

125 10/1922 Sargent 256 11/1961 DRYER FOR ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT SUMMARY Itis a primary object of the present invention to provide an athleticequipment dryer which may be moved along the side lines of an athleticfield and kept in close proximity to the location of play, for receivingand drying balls in inclement weather to not only remove moisture fromthe surface of wet balls,.but to dry the balls by removing the moisturetherefrom, so that when a ball is returned to play it will be of aproper weight as specified by the regulations of the game, rather thanof an excessive weight due to its moisture content, as where the surfaceof the ball has merely been wiped with a towel.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dryer capable of dryingthe ball or other athletic equipment in such a manner that the leatherwill be soft and pliable rather than stiff and hard after drying.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dryer including arevolving enclosure of open work construction for supporting the ballsor equipment to be dried and which is disposed between a plurality ofheating elements for drying the balls and equipment as such articlestumble within the enclosure.

Another objectof the invention is to provide means to facilitate loadingand unloading the enclosure from opposite ends thereof to enable thedriest balls or equipment to be initially unloaded.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention willhereinafterbecome more fully apparent from the following dscription ofthe drawings, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, andwherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of thedryer;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially along aplane as indicated by the line 22 of FIG. 3, and on an enlarged scalerelative to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken substantially along a plane asindicated by the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, and showing an access door in apartially open position, and

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view taken substantially along a plane asindicated by the line 4-4 of FIG. 2, and showing the same door in afully open position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring more specifically tothe drawings, the dryer for athletic equipment in its entirety isdesignated generally 5 and includes a cabinet 6 supported by two rearwheels 7 and a front wheel 8.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cabinet 6 includes a frame 9preferably composed of angle iron and which is covered with sheet metal10 to provide a bottom 11, top wall 12, front wall 13, rear wall 14,bottom side wall portions and 16, and upper side wall portions 17 and18. The upper side wall portions 17 and 18 slope upwardly and inwardly,relative to one another, to the top wall 12. Substantially the entireside wall portion 17 constitutes a door or closure which is swingablyconnected along its bottom edge to the upper edge of the wall portion 15by a piano hinge 19. The closure 17 is equipped with a handle 20 and isnormally maintained in a closed position by a conventional latch 21,including a keeper 22 which is secured to the top wall 12, as seen inFIG. 3.

As seen in FIG. 4, a portion of the lower part of the rear wall 14 iscut out to provide a second access door 23 which is hinged along oneside edge thereof, as seen at 24, and which is provided near its otherside edge with a handle 25. The door 23 may be provided with a latch,not shown, corresponding to the latch of the door 17. The interior ofthe cabinet walls, including the doors 17 and 23, are lined with a heatinsulating material 26, such as asbestos board.

Pillow blocks 27 and 28 are mounted on and secured to horizontal endportions of the frame 9 which are disposed adjacent to the end walls 13and 14, respectively, to provide journals for shafts 29 and 30 which arefixed to and project from the ends of an enclosure 31.

The enclosure 31 includes an elongated rectangular rigid frame 32 havingcorresponding side portions 33 and corresponding end portions 34. Theshafts 29 and 30 are welded to and project from said end portions 34,midway of the ends thereof. The enclosure 31 additionally includes acylindrical cage of open work construction, designated generally 35,which is preferably formed of mesh wire fabric and which includes endwalls 36, a cylindrical intermediate portion 37, semicylindrical endportions 38 which form extensions of the portion 37, andsemi-cylindrical portions 39 and 40, constituting closures. Intermediateportions of the bars 33 are disposed externally of and secured to theintermediate cage portion 37 and to the longitudinal edges of theextensions 38.

Three bosses 41 are fixed to andproject outwardly from each bar 33,adjacent the ends and intermediate of the ends thereof, to support a rod42 which extends substantially from end to end of the cage 35. Theclosures 39 and 40, adjacent each side edge thereof, are

provided with two outwardly projecting apertured ears 43 which aremounted on and slidably engage the rods 42. The closures 39 and 40, whenin fully closed positions, as illustrated by the closure 40 in FIG. 2,provide a completely enclosed cylindrical cage. Either closure can beslidably moved and telescoped over the half of the cylindrical cageportion 37, located adjacent thereto, as illustrated by the closure 39,shown in a partly open position in FIG. 2. The closures 39 and 40 areprovided with handles 45, located on the sides thereof which face thedoor 17, when said closures constitute parts of the upper half of thecage 35, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4.

A mounting bracket 46 is fixed to and projects outwardly from the frontwall 13 to provide a support for an electric motor 47 having an outputshaft 48 projecting from a gear box 49 of the motor toward the wall 13.The shaft 29 extends through the pillow block 27 and through the frontwall 13 and is connected by a coupling 50 to the shaft 48 for revolvingthe enclosure 31. The shaft 30 terminates in the other pillow block 28.

A plurality, preferably three bars 51 are disposed within andlongitudinally of the cabinet 6 and are supported by portions of theframe 9. Each bar or mount 51 supports a plurality of electrical lampsockets 52 which provide supports for three sets or banks of heat lamps53, 54 and 55, preferably infra-red lamps, although other types of heatlamps may be utilized. The lamp bulbs 53, 54 and 55 are disposed aroundand spaced from the enclosure 31 and face toward said enclosure.

tional plug 60 which may be connected to any conven- ,tional extensioncord, not shown, leading from a conventional source of electric current.Conductor wires 61 connect the sockets 52 of the heating elements orlamps 53 and 54 to the switch 56 and conductor wires 62 connect thesockets 52 of the lamps 55 to the switch 57. Conductor wires 63, FIG. 1,connect the electric motor 47 to the switch 58.

A tray or pan 64 is mounted in the bottom portion of the cabinet 6 andextends from the front wall 13 to adjacent the rear wall 14. As seen inFIG. 2, the tray or pan slopes downwardly and rearwardly toward the rearwall 13, has open ends, and is lined on its upper side with mesh wirefabric 65, for a purpose which will hereinafter be apparent.

The wheels 7 and 8 are provided with pneumatic tires. The wheels 7 arejournaled on the ends of an axle 66 and are disposed outwardly of theside portions and 16, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4. The axle 66 is securedacross the under side of the bottom 11 near the rear wall 14.

A gooseneck 67 is secured to the outer sides of the bottom 11 and frontwall 13 and has an upper portion 68 projecting forwardly from the frontwall. A wheel fork 69 is disposed beneath the forward end of the portion68 and has an upstanding post 70 which is turnably secured therein forswivelly mounting the fork. The wheel 8 is rotatably mounted in the fork69 on an axle 71 which additionally provides a pivot for the forked end72 of a handle 73, by means of which the dryer 5 is pulled and steered.

The gooseneck 67 is so constructed that the front end of the cabinet 6is elevated slightly relative to the rear end thereof, so that the axisof the enclosure 31 is inclined slightly downwardly and rearwardly fromits forward end which is located adjacent the front wall 13.

Assuming that the plug 60 is connected to an electric current source,the closure 17 can be opened for manually operating the switches 56, 57and 58 for energizing the heating elements 53, 54 and 55 and the motor47 for revolving the enclosure 31 and for drying the contents thereof.The dryer 5 may be used for example on an inclement day or a day whenthe ground is wet along the side line of a football field. As footballsare removed from play due to becoming wet, such footballs, not shown,may be dried with the dryer 5 rather than the moisture being wiped fromthe surface thereof with a towel, as is the conventional practice.

When the door 17 is opened and the switches manipulated to de-energizethe motor 47 and heating elements, the handle 45 of the sliding closure39 is grasped to move said closure from left to right from a closedposition against the left hand end wall 36, FIG. 2, to an open position,to or beyond the position of said closure as seen in FIG. 2, so that oneor more wet footballs, not shown, can be placed in the cage 35. Thisoperation can be repeated intermittently as additional wet footballs areremoved from the game. After each application of footballs to the cage35, the closure 39 is returned to a closed position and the switches 56,57 and 58 are manipulated for energizing the heating elements and motor.The door 17 is returned to a closed position and the balls containedwithin the cage 35 are dried by the heating elements 53, 54 and 55 asthe balls tumble within the cage 35 to expose all parts thereof to theheat. As there is no circulation of air within the cabinet 6 with doors17 and 23 closed, the contents of the cage 35 will not stiffen whendried.

Due to the slight inclination of the enclosure 31, the balls thereinwhile being tumbled will gradually move toward the right hand endthereof, so that additional wet balls can be conveniently applied, asheretofore described. Additionally, when the switches are in an openposition and the closure 17 is opened, the closure 40 can be moved tothe right from its closed position of FIG. 2 for removing dried ballsfrom the right hand end of the cage 35, either to be returned to theplaying field or to be stored on the pan 64. The mesh wire fabric linerwill prevent balls stored thereon from coming in contact with anymoisture which may have dripped onto the upper portion of the pan 64from the cage 35. Thereafter, when a dry ball is needed, the closure 23can be opened and a dry ball removed from the pan 64 through the openingin the rear Wall thus provided, without interrupting rotation of theenclosure 31 or operation of the heating elements.

It will be readily apparent that the dryer 5 is equally well adapted fordrying other types of athletic equipment including soccer balls,basketballs used for outdoor play, baseballs, baseball gloves andathletic shoes of all types.

It will also be apparent that various other types of heating elementsmay be substituted for the lamp bulbs and that the cabinet 6 can supporta storage battery or an electric generator operated by a small gasolineengine to render the dryer completely self contained.

Various other modifications and changes are contemplated and may beresorted to without departing from the function or scope of theinvention.

I claim as my invention:

l. A dryer for athletic equipment comprising a portable cabinet havingan access door, an elongated cage of open work construction adapted tocontain plural pieces of equipment to be dried and having a closure atone end affording access to the interior thereof when in an openposition, means rotatably mounting said cage within the cabinet at adownward incline from said end, means for revolving the cage, heatingmeans for drying the contents of the cage, said cage having closed endsand being of a size whereby equipment being dried will tumble toward andcollect in the other lower end thereof, and a second closure located atsaid lower end and accessible through said door for removal of the driedequipment from said lower end of the cage.

2. A dryer as in claim 1, said cage having closed ends and includingmovable sections forming said closures, and means mounting said closuresfor sliding movement longitudinally of the cage between open and closedpositions.

3. A dryer as in claim 1, a tricycle typemount providing the mobilesupport for the cabinet including a pair of transversely spaced rearwheels and a front steering wheel, and a handle connected to the frontsteering wheel for propelling and steering the dryer.

4. A dryer as in claim 1, said means for revolving the cage comprisingan electric motor, said heating means comprising a plurality of banks ofheat lamps disposed around and spaced from the cage, and electricswitches carried by the cabinet and connected to an electric currentsource for controlling operation of the electric motor and lamp bulbs.

moisture in the pan.

7. A dryer as in claim 6, said cabinet having a second door opening intothe cabinet beneath the lower end of the cage and affording access tothe cabinet for removal of dried equipment from the pan withoutinterrupting operation of the cage or the heating means.

8. A dryer as in claim 1, said cabinet being lined with a heatinsulating material.

' s a: a:

1. A dryer for athletic equipment comprising a portable cabinet havingan access door, an elongated cage of open work construction adapted tocontain plural pieces of equipment to be dried and having a closure atone end affording access to the interior thereof when in an openposition, means rotatably mounting said cage within the cabinet at adownward incline from said end, means for revolving the cage, heatingmeans for drying the contents of the cage, said cage having closed endsand being of a size whereby equipment being dried will tumble toward andcollect in the other lower end thereof, and a second closure located atsaid lower end and accessible through said door for removal of the driedequipment from said lower end of the cage.
 2. A dryer as in claim 1,said cage having closed ends and including movable sections forming saidclosures, and means mounting said closures for sliding movementlongitudinally of the cage between open and closed positions.
 3. A dryeras in claim 1, a tricycle type mount providing the mobile support forthe cabinet including a pair of transversely spaced rear wheels and afront steering wheel, and a handle connected to the front steering wheelfor propelling and steering the dryer.
 4. A dryer as in claim 1, saidmeans for revolving the cage comprising an electric motor, said heatingmeans comprising a plurality of banks of heat lamps disposed around andspaced from the cage, and electric switches carried by the cabinet andconnected to an electric current source for controlling operation of theelectric motor and lamp bulbs.
 5. A dryer as in claim 1, a pan disposedin the bottom of the cabinet for catching any moisture dropping from thecage, said pan being inclined in the same direction as the cage.
 6. Adryer as in claim 5, said pan being adapted to support dried equipmentstored in the cabinet, and means lining the upper surface of the pan tosupport the equipment stored thereon out of contact with any moisture inthe pan.
 7. A dryer as in claim 6, said cabinet having a second dooropening into the cabinet beneath the lower end of the cage and affordingaccess to the cabinet for removal of dried equipment from the panwithout interrupting operation of the cage or the heating means.
 8. Adryer as in claim 1, said cabinet being lined with a heat insulatingmaterial.